The Mother Load

I asked ChatGPT to write me a résumé... for being a mom.I thought it would be funny.Then it started listing executive leadership, strategic planning, conflict resolution, stakeholder management, budget oversight, event production and crisis management.And I sat there thinking, "Well... crap. It's not wrong."Because somewhere along the way, motherhood comes with a workload nobody really puts on paper. I’m not just talking about keeping tiny humans alive. I'm talking fundraisers, budgets, volunteer armies, school events, schedules, committees, learning five new software platforms and somehow being put in charge of the volunteer appreciation banquet... that the volunteers also have to plan.The Mother Load.In this episode, I talk about my years as a PTO president, how I accidentally turned volunteering into a full-time unpaid career, the fine art of being "volun-told," and how COVID eventually forced me to realize that somewhere in the middle of doing ALL THE THINGS, I had completely lost myself.And yes, it's funny. Because motherhood is objectively ridiculous sometimes.But underneath the laughs is something I think we need to start saying out loud: the work counts.The skills are real. The leadership is real. The experience is real. The giant blank space on a traditional résumé? It wasn't actually blank.So if you've ever looked at your résumé and wondered how you're supposed to explain the years you spent managing the Mother Load, pull up a chair.We're putting that sh*t on the résumé.